VJ Spark Lightweight, Quick Attack OCR & Trail Running Shoes Voted as a Runner's World Best New Shoe of 2022

Trail and mountain runner from NC. After all the hyper surrounding VJ shoes I decided to try them out for myself, I was not disappointed. First run was a 14 mile trail run at Hanging Rock State Park, NC. It summits 3 major peaks, is rocky and technical. With heavy fog and a mist the trails were saturated and rocks slick. Initially the shoes felt very stiff but broke in after a few miles. They were stable on the technical sections and I was shocked at how amazing the grip was on the wet rock. I was able to take long strides downhill with no worry of slipping. They also climbed very well. With the lack of a full rubber outsole and no rock plate I did feel quite a bit underfoot but I am used to thinner shoes. I used to run in old school Inov-8s which these remind me of. Fit was secure with a nice mid foot lock. I did get a few blisters but this was due to the break in. I sized up to a 10 from my usual 9.5 as recommended and they fit perfect with room in the front to prevent toe jamming downhill. All in all a great shoe, I will continue to run in VJs until I find something better.

I needed a new OCR shoe so I decided to give this shoe a try. I saw this shoe has quite a bit of really good reviews so i wanted to give them a try. I read as many reviews as possible and those were spot on. The shoe is very light which is great, the toe box is smaller then I prefer but the lightness of the shoe makes up for that a little bit, and I did size up per the reviews I read. I was wearing the MT King from Altra and that has a wide toe box so this was snug but not as bad as I thought it would be. I typically wear a men’s 8 but went with a 9 and it is perfect. An 8.5 would have been too small. I did break them in before going on a long run but I have to do that with any shoe! Overall I am very pleased with this shoe! I hope this review helps!